Similarly Different
by Squipped'N'Equipped
Summary: Until I can think of a better summary; a Remadora story. Basically the marauders but with Tonks as the fifth marauder. Main focus is the Tonks, Lupin and Black friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings** **and salutations! So I was at work in a corner store, and an idea stuck. I've always wanted to write my own Remadora story you see... so why the heck not!?**

 **Some notes and stuff regarding this story;**

 **-It's a fanfiction of course, a lot of stuff shall be different and made up! I own nothing but the obvious changes. The characters belong to our Queen, JK Rowling.**

 **-This is mostly gonna be a Remadora and Sirius Black friendship kinda story... THERE WILL BE THE MARAUDER'S AND STUFF BUT ITS MOSTLY GONNA FOCUS ON MOONY, PADFOOT AND TONKS.**

 **That's all. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this scrap of a fanfiction. Please, enjoy!**

* * *

"Sirius...?"

A young boy with short dark hair, poked another who was laying in bed, deep in slumber and snoring loudly. He watched as the sleeping boy snuggled deeper into his blankets, mumbling quietly. The younger brother sighed and shook the sleeping figure lightly.

"Sirius wake up. Mother will be angry if you miss the train... especially on your first day."

Sirius pulls one of his hands from the blanket as to swat the younger's hand away. He then shoves his hand back in and returns to his cocoon. He began mumbling sleepily;

"Mmnnnn... not now Regulus... too sleepy..."

Regulus sighed yet again. As much as he knew it was coming, he really didn't want it to have to come to his. He picked up the bucket of ice water he'd brought with him, knowing something like this would happen. He raised the booker and tipped it over, causing the ice-cold contents to pour onto his older brother, making him jump right from his blanket confinement and yell in shock.

"BLOODY HELL! 'IGHT! I'M UP! I'M UP!"

Regulus sniggered before throwing a towel at his brother, watching it land on the top of his head.

"You have to get ready. The train leaves at twelve o'clock on the dot. Kreacher moved your trunk downstairs for you."

"Right... I'm just going to dry off... and get ready... tell mother I'll be down in fifteen..." said Sirius, removing the towel from the top of his head. He watched as his younger brother left the room and began drying himself off, starting with his curly, dark hair. Once he was mostly dry, he looked around his room, spotting the clothes (surprisingly fast, considering his room was an absolute mess) he'd left out the previous day. He walked over to them, kicking around some empty 'Every Flavoured Beans' boxes and picked them up before walking out of his room and into the bathroom across the hallway. He shut the door, and it automatically locked itself (a charm his mother had put upon it).

After he had been washed and changed, he looked into the mirror and began to comb his mess of dark curls.

"Sirius Black, you are going to be the most good-looking wizard Hogwarts has ever seen!" He said to himself, fixing his hair. His reflection winked at him- the mirror was enchanted- and gave him the thumbs up, signalling that he looked good.

He walked out of the bathroom and back to his room, looking for things he may have forgotten to pack, his mind plagued with thoughts about the school he was attending. More specifically, his Hogwarts house.

He knew fine rightly that he was going to be a Slytherin. He had to be! He was a Black! And all Blacks were pure-blooded Slytherins. His mother had been a Slytherin. His older cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa were Slytherins. Even his apparent 'blood-traitor' cousin Andromeda was a Slytherin. He never knew much about her (except her name being Andromeda Tonks now) considering his mother had burned her name from the Black family tree for marrying a muggleborn Gryffindor. Apparently she had a daughter but he'd never met her... it was rare anyone in the family would mention Andromeda and her family, and if they did, it was out of spite.

After looking around his room, finding nothing else worth bringing to Hogwarts with him, he walked out of his room and walked downstairs, where his mother and younger brother were waiting for him.

"Come on boy!" His mother snapped. "We need to leave now! Unless you'd like to miss your train and let the rest of the family down because YOU couldn't even get to the train on time! Merlin, why can't you be more like Regulus! If you were him we'd be out by now and on the train..."

Sirius sighed. If there was something he wasn't going to miss, it would be his mothers attitude and habit of comparing him to his younger brother...

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small wooden cabin in the woods, two males sat at a small, wooden table in a small, wooden kitchen. One, was a young boy, about eleven years old. He had a scarred face, shaggy, light-brown hair and bright blue but tired looking, dark circled eyes, kinda like a raccoon. He ate his bowl cereal in silence, listening to the conversation that the older man was making. The other male looked in his thirties-forties. His hair was the same colour as the younger males only slightly longer. Their eyes were also the same colour and shape. He was munching on a piece of toast, chattering away to the younger boy, smiling like a madman.

"I'm so proud of you Remus! Merlin, your mother would be so proud of you. Our boy, of to Hogwarts! The finest wizarding school in England! I wonder, what house you'll get sorted into to! You are quite the thinker, so maybe you'll follow in my Ravenclaw footsteps! Though you'd make an excellent Gryffindor! I mean, you've got a load of courage! But you're also loyal. You'd fit right in with Hufflepuff. And although Slytherin has its rep, it's brought some good wizards into the world too! Many good leaders! Merlin's pants, I bet you're excited! What house do you reckon you'll get into son?"

Remus smiled at his father, he swallowed his cereal before speaking.

"I think I'll probably take after you dad. From what you've told me about Ravenclaw, I feel like that's where I'll end up."

His father grinned widely at him. "Ravenclaw would be lucky to have you son... and... you know what to do right? Y'know... when the moon...?"

Remus nodded and looked down guiltily.

Lyall Lupin, used to be a writer for the 'Daily Prophet', and he'd once published a... slightly insulting article about Fenrir Greyback (one of the most infamous werewolves in the wizarding world) which... Remus paid the price for. He was bitten by Fenrir himself while walking in the forest one evening, and of course, he contracted lycanthropy from the bite. When his parents found him an hour later, laying in a pool of blood, they thought the worst. They rushed him to immediately and demanded to be seen by healers before their son died. His father was a mess that day. He always blamed himself for his sons pain. Blames himself for writing the article.

However, Remus never blamed his father for his lycanthropy or writing the article. He was in fact, incredibly proud of him and admired him greatly. He was never able to make any friends, so he always looked up to his father. The main reason he admired his father, was his positive attitude. No matter what happened, he always found a way to smile or make others around him smile. Remus remembered being in the hospital bed after being told of his illness. He was only young, so he never really knew what to feel, asides from fear. He always heard scary stories about werewolves from his dad. But as he lay there in the hospital bed, bandaged and in pain, his father, despite his own fear and guilt, sat trying to make him laugh.

 _"Now son, no shedding fur on my sofa you hear?"_

Lyall has also lost his wife of spattergoit three years ago, leaving Remus without his mother.

So the last three years, Lyall wanted to be the best parent he could possibly be for Remus, especially since his poor son suffered just as much as him.

"That's my boy... and remember... if kids go all weird about your scars or if they find out about your lycanthropy, tell the headmaster and write to me. Don't bottle your emotions up okay...? Your mother wouldn't want you hurting yourself like that..."

Remus stood up and put his now empty cereal bowl into the sink. He sat down quietly and smiled.

"Don't worry dad... I promise I'll write."

Lyall stood up and put his own plate into the sink, ruffling his sons hair in the process. That earned a laugh from his son.

"Go get your things son. We should get ready to leave now."

Remus jumped from his chair began walking out the kitchen.

"And Remus...?"

"Yes dad?"

Remus stopped where he was and turned his head back. His father wore a small smile and his blue eyes were filled with pride.

"I'm proud of you."

Remus grinned, his own blue orbs filling with admiration for the adult in front of him.

"Thanks... and dad...?"

"Yes my boy...?"

"I'm proud of you too... and she is too."

"I know she is son... I know."

* * *

A small, red, car made its way down the roads of London. Inside the car, the two adults sitting at the front found themselves having a small argument.

"Okay so I'm putting 5 galleons on Gryffindor" spoke the man who was driving the car. He had short, dirty-blonde hair and bright green eyes. He kept his eyes focused on the road as they drove, but he occasionally looked at the woman next to him.

She turned beside him, flipping her dark brown hair as she did so.

"Ted, we've talked about this... she's gonna be a Slytherin!"

"Shes going to be a Gryffindor love. I feel it."

"Slytherin. Every Black has been a Slytherin."

"She's more 'Nymphadora Tonks' than 'Nymphadora Black' and you know it Andy, you've told me that yourself."

"Slytherin."

"Gryffindor."

"Slytherin."

"Gryffindor."

Nymphadora sighed from the back of the car, slowly petting the sleeping, black cat that was curled up in her lap, her short, bright pink hair sticking up at all angles. This wasn't the first time she'd heard her parents have this argument, especially this week.

See, her mother, Andromeda Tonks (formerly Andromeda Black), was a Slytherin when she attended Hogwarts. Not to mention, a Black, and every member of the Black family had so far made it into Slytherin. Her mother actually has two younger sisters, one who attends Hogwarts at the moment, though Nymphadora has never met them. She hasn't really met anyone from her mother's family since they all disowned her for marrying her dad.

Her father however, Ted Tonks, was a muggleborn Gryffindor. He was the first wizard in his known family, which of course came as a bit of a shock to them. They came to accept it though, often becoming fascinated with tales from the wizarding world.

"But dad" started Nymphadora, still stroking the cat "there are two other houses right? Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff? What if I end up in one of them?"

Ted smiled from the drivers seat. "Then we'll still be proud of you. I just want to prove to your mother that not all Blacks have to be Slytherins."

"Proving mum wrong? Pfft... I thought the woman was always right!"

"Exactly dear." Andromeda said, as she turned her head. She frowned as soon as she saw her daughter however, she frowned. "Oh Nymphadora, come on... the hair? Keep it natural.. please... at least for your first day?"

Nymphadora sighed. _'Did she have to call me Nymphadora?'_ She thought to herself, as she scrunched her nose.

Nymphadora had always hated her first name. She thought it sounded completely ridiculous! Every-time she was at a family gathering with her dads side (the muggle side), she always requested her cousins to call her by her second name, Tonks. Her father always called her Dora, but her mother insisted she call her by the name she gave her, much to her daughters disappointment.

As her nose scrunched up, her short pink hair grew out until it stopped at her shoulders. The bright pink colour, faded out into a chestnut brown. Ah, the perks of being a metamorphagus.

Her mother smiled. "Much better. Your natural hair is beautiful Nymphadora."

"Mum... I'm gonna get made fun of."

"And why is that?"

"Because you named me, that's why!"

"Oh don't be silly!" Andromeda said, as she rolled her eyes. "Your name is beautiful and unique!"

"Ugh... and what if they don't like me? What if they all think that... I dunno, I'm a shape-shifting freakazoid?"

The car fell into a very uncomfortable silence, until Ted decided to break it.

"Dora love, why would anyone think that? It's a very rare gift to have."

The young girl sniffed. "It's just... any time I'm with cousin Lisa, that's what she calls me..."

"Don't let her get to you love, my sister still has some issues trying to accept that we're different. I'm sure they'll eventually give it up."

"You're a beautiful girl with beautiful abilities Nymphadora..." Andromeda spoke up. "No one else's opinions matter to you, but your own."

The car fell into silence again.

Nymphadora however, decided to break it.

"So... five galleons I won't end up in Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

* * *

 **Did I do as terribly as I thought I did..? Heheh... feel free to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**'Ello! Okay, before we got into the next update, I have decided to make the marauders meet James Potter and Peter Pettigrew AT Hogwarts instead of the train. It's easier for me to work with! Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It was fuled by tea and a Brooklyn Nine Nine marathon at 3am!**

* * *

The platform was extremely busy. Children were running around trying to catch their pets, which ran, flew and jumped as soon as the train's horn went.

Remus Lupin had just said goodbye to his father (he could have sworn he saw tears coming from the usually joyful man's eyes) and boarded the Hogwarts express. His father, unfortunately couldn't stay to see the train off, as he had to attend work. He sat in an empty compartment and looked out the window and watched as the platform began to fill up with even more students, parents and animals.

He took out a book which his father had given him to read for the journey. It was a muggle book named 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. His father said that it had belonged to his mother, who was a muggle, and was one of her favourites. He smiled and rand his fingers over the cover, before opening it and beginning to read the first chapter.

He was brought out of his personal peace and quiet when the sound of a door sliding opened. He looked up and saw a boy with dark curly hair standing at the doorway.

"Mind if I join you?"

* * *

Sirius Black was saying his goodbyes to his brother and mother before boarding the train. Unlike most of the families around giving their children hugs and kisses goodbye, his mother was giving him a lecture, a common occurrence for him.

"Now remember Sirius. Slytherin house. Don't associate yourself with any mudbloods, I'll have Bellatrix tell me. I already have a blood-traitor of a niece, I don't want a blood-traitor son. Study hard and you'll do well."

Sirius nodded, sighing quietly before turning to his younger brother.

"You can keep my old broom if you want Reg, it's under my bed. Might need polishing though..."

Regulus grinned and said his thanks, giving Sirius and extremely awkward hug.

Sirius said his goodbyes once more and turned to enter the train, catching a glance of his mother walking off and shoulder shoving a young woman on the way. He rolled his eyes and walked to find a compartment.

'I could go sit with cousin Bellatrix' he thought to himself. 'Though I doubt she'd want a first year invading her and her 6th year buddies.'

He eventually found a compartment that sounded quiet from the inside. Hoping to be alone, he opened the sliding door, only to see that it wasn't as empty as he thought it was. He saw a young boy with light brown hair, looking down at an old book in his lap. The young boy looked up at Sirius, and he caught a glance of his bright blue eyes. His face was scarred, but Sirius thought they looked pretty cool. He'd even say they looked badass on him.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked.

The boy nodded nervously before looking back down at his book.

* * *

Andromeda, walking along the platform felt a shove to her side and saw her aunt Walburga barging past, scowling and muttering about 'mudbloods' and 'blood-traitors'. She rolled her eyes and ushered Nymphadora forward, who was being nuzzled by the cat, lazing on her shoulders. Ted followed close by, and gave his wife a look, as if to ask if she was okay. Andromeda just shook her head and whispered the word 'family'.

"Okay now love, I want you to write to me as soon as you're in your common room okay?" She said, kneeling down and hugging her daughter tightly. The car in her daughter's shoulders meowed and jumped down on the ground and stood beside her.

Tonks hugged her mother back, muttering a quiet 'I will' before pulling back. She approached her father and hugged him tightly too.

"Remember. Don't let anyone get you down Dora. The only opinion that matters is your own."

"Okay dad." She said grinning, letting go of her father. "I'll miss you both."

The young girl picked up her cat and turned and boarded the train, giving her parents one more wave before she wandered off to find somewhere to sit.

'Okay Loki, let's find a compartment shall we?'

After checking a good number compartments, all being full, she began feeling irritated. That cat in her arms started feeling similar, occasionally trying to jump out of her arms and stretch his legs.

Eventually, after much more compartment checking and being turned down (at this she was convinced that they weren't even full, they just said that so she'd go away), she found one that sounded incredibly silent from the inside. She knocked and waited a response along the lines of 'we're full sorry!', only to be greeted with more silence. She slowly slid the door open and stood awkwardly in silence.

She looked around the small compartment and saw two boys, both looked to be first years like her. The first one, had light brown hair. He was reading an old muggle book. Her father owned a lot of them so she knew a lot of titles herself. The other had a curly mess of black hair. He lay on the opposite seats, twirling his wand above his head.

She cleared her throat before talking, getting the attention of both boys. "Wotcher, mind if I join you both? Most compartments are full. I've been struggling finding somewhere to sit."

* * *

The compartment was silent, all asides for the sound of the train, chugging along the tracks.

Remus sat reading, his head deep in his book. Nymphadora sat next to him, tapping her foot and petting her cat. Sirius still lay on his back, across from the two, twirling his wand above his head.

The three had sat in silence for half an hour now. No one really had bothered to speak. No one introduced themselves. The three just sat quietly minding their own business... which annoyed one of the three.

"Right. That's it. I'm sick of this bloody silence. What are your names?"

Remus Lupin looked up from his book to the girl besides him, just as Sirius had stopped twirling his wand and turned his head to look in the same direction. Tonks shrugged.

"What? We're travelling together, may as well get to know each other right? Now! Tell me your names, and I'll tell you mine... as dreadful as it is."

"Well..." Remus cleared his throat and looked up from his book. He stuck out his hand an put it towards Tonks. Her eyes widened slightly at the long scars on his face but she took his hand and shook it. "My name is Remus Lupin and uh... I like to read?"

Tonks beamed happily and watched as Remus leaned to Shake Sirius' hand. "There we go! You next, twirly! What's your name?"

Sirius sat up and put his wand down beside him before speaking;

"Well... the names Sirius Black, future Sly-" he was cut of by Tonks gasping.

"Black..." she said quietly.

"You heard me. Sirius Orion Black. Is there something wrong?"

Nymphadora shook her head. She wore an expression of both thought and confusion. Remus' eyes kept darting between both of his travel companions, his hands closed his book gently and set it aside.

"Nothing wrong... just..." she thought about what to say. "Black... you wouldn't happen to know an Andromeda Black would you...? Now Andromeda Tonks?"

Sirius' eyes widened.

"Well... I know OF her. She's my cousin y'see, but she married a muggleborn an-" he was cut off speaking by Tonks, who suddenly had a face of clarity.

"And got herself booted from the family, right?"

Remus coughed and shuffled awkwardly while the exchange between his two companions continued. He never really had much to say, seeing as this seemed like a bit of a personal issue.

"You're right... how did you know?" asked Sirius, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes at the girl in front of him.

"Well..." she smiled a small grin. "It appears, that we happen to be related... as YOUR cousin Andromeda... happens to be MY mum... and that muggleborn? Happens to be my dad."

Sirius started smiling. Oh his mother would not like it that he had befriended the daughter of a blood traitor, but right now, he couldn't care less.

"Wait, then what does that make us?" He asked, his smile fading to confusion.

"I believe," both relatives looked over to Remus "that would make you both, 2nd cousins... I think."

Nymphadora smiles and stuck out her hand, Sirius took it and shook it lightly.

"Well cousin, it's nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, are you going to tell us your name?"

Tonks sighed and let go of Sirius' hand. "Right... well, you've got to promise not to laugh okay?"

"I solemnly swear not to laugh at your name... I mean, my names Remus. It's not the most common of names..."

Sirius sat up more and smiled widely, his curls bouncing as he did so.

"Exactly! I mean, just look at my entire family and their names! I mean, Sirius, Bellatrix, Narcissa... my mother's name is Walburga for Merlin's sake!"

"Right then..." Tonks felt her face heat up with blush as the two sets of eyes looked at her intensely, awaiting for her to tell them the name that it seemed she loathed so much.

"Nymphadora... but call me Tonks! Please for the love of Merlin, don't call me Nymphadora!"

Remus smiles kindly at her. "Well, nice to meet you Tonks!"

She was about to smile back until a snort of laughter came from across the compartment. The two heads turned to see Sirius grinning madly and covering his mouth and trying to hold in his laughter. Tonks frowned and her long brown hair changed a fiery red as she glared angrily at him at him, like she was staring right into his oil. His smile vanished and changed to a face of amazement, as did Remus'.

"Woah! Your hair! What happened there Tonks!?"

Her cheeks went pink yet again as she blushed, the anger vanishing from her face.

"Well... y'see... I'm a metamorphagus... or a shapshifting freakazoid... depending on what your opinions are..." She spoke nervously and hair changed from its fiery red to the short, bright pink style from earlier in the car. She braced herself for the insults as the two boys looked at her in awe.

"Amazing..." whispered Remus in awe.

 _'She's like me... she's different...'_ his thoughts told him. However, he seemed to snap his mind back to reality of the situation.

 _'She's nothing like you... you're a werewolf... and werewolves are dark creatures.'_

"Insanely cool!" Exclaimed Sirius.

 _'Curse my ruddy family! Keeping someone as awesome as my cousin away!'_

Tonks laughed nervously and her face continued to flush pink as she blushed, overwhelmed with the unexpected compliments.

"Thanks guys... anyways! What house do you think you're both gonna be in? My mum and dad have been arguing since I got my letter about if I'm gonna be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin, they each have five galleons bet on where I end up!"

The three children burst into more chatter about their future houses. Remus smiled awkwardly and rambled about how he was mostly sure he was going to be in Ravenclaw. Sirius announced how he was probably going to end up in Slytherin, considering all the Black family had ended up there.

 _'Though... it may be nice to break that stereotype...'_ he thought to himself. _'I'm already the black sheep in the household... why not make it worse?'_

* * *

Eventually they neared the arrival at their destination, and they decided to change into their robes. Tonks, Being the only female in the compartment, left to go and change in the bathroom.

She returned to see her cat Loki, asleep on the chair and both boys, fully changed and staring out the window. She walked over and joined them, intrigued by what they were looking at.

The sight that met her had to be one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

A huge stone castle stood proudly, the windows glowing either the lights on the inside. The towers stood tall, reminding her of the muggle story 'Rapunzel' her father used to tell her.

"Beautiful..." she muttered quietly to herself.

"It really is..." she turned her head slightly to Remus, who was still staring in awe out the window.

They were brought out of their trance as the train came to a halt outside of the Station.

Nymphadora picked up her cat, waking him in the process. Sirius pocketed his wand and Remus picked up his book.

"Well ladies," Sirius spoke up "looks like we've arrived at our destination.

* * *

 **And that's that! Anyway, feel free to leave a review! And thanks to those who gave me positive feedback and followed the story on my first chapter, seeing the notifications made my day.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter time kids! Some explaining here;**

 **Mulciber, Avery and some other characters such as Alice Longbottom, have made up first names or second names. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find the actual given name for them.**

 **I ALSO INCLUDED NEWT SCAMANDER AS I NEEDED SOME HUFFLEPUFFS AND I HAVE ALREADY MADE THE TIMELINE DIFFERENT... so why not eh?**

* * *

Sirius, Tonks , Remus and all of the other first years stood in silence. Some with a face of excitement, others with fear.

Before them, in front of all the teacher's table which was full, a small wooden stool sat. Upon the stool, a black wizards hat had just sang to them about Hogwarts and what each hour represents.

"Now, I will call your name and you will come up to the stool, sit down and I place the hat upon your head to be sorted."

The thick, Scottish accent of Professor McGonagall, the professor that lead the first years to the great hall broke the the silence. She was dressed in emerald green robes and wore a witches hat atop her head, her greying black hair tied into a bun. The students that sat at the tables whispering, fell silent as to pay attention to who would be joining their houses.

"I will then remove the hat from your head and you shall walk to your house table. Each house has a head of house. I am the head of Gryffindor. Professor Flitwick," she pointed to a small man, some of his features resembling a goblins, "is head of Ravenclaw." "Professor Sprout," she pointed towards a cheerful looking woman, her robes looked shabby and were patched with different coloured fabric, "is head of Hufflepuff. And Professor Slughorn," she motioned to a pudgy, balding man with a proud smile on his face, "head of Slytherin house."

She removed a scroll from inside of her robes and unrolled it. "Lets start the sorting shall we?... Marlene McKinnon!"

A small, red headed girl slowly made her way up to the stool. Her green eyes closed as McGonagall places the hat upon the young girls head.

"Ah... Marlene McKinnon... a bright mind you have... yes... just like your mother... RAVENCLAW!"

Marlene smiled widely and the students of the Ravenclaw table whooped and applauded as she headed towards them. Older Ravenclaw students shook her hand as she sat down, her cheeks pink as she blushed at all the attention she was getting.

"Okay Ravenclaw, settle down. I'd like to continue the sorting!"

The applause and cheers from the Ravenclaw table faded out and all attention was now back onto the sorting hat and who wore it.

"James Potter!"

A young boy with messy black hair and rounded glasses, swaggered up to the stool, an expression of confidence, plastered on his face. The sorting hat barely touched his head before roaring, "GRYFFINDOR!". James Potter stood up from the stool and cheered as he ran towards the table, shaking hands with other Gryffindors.

"Severus Snape!"

A young boy with black, greasy, shoulder length hair stood up and silently walked to the stool and sat down. Similarly with James, the hat barely touched his head before placing him in Slytherin house. He walked to the Slytherin table, which was whooping with applause as he walked. He shook hands with one of the Slytherin prefects, a tall boy with platinum blonde hair.

Once the applause settled down, professor McGonagall continued on;

"Sirius Black!"

Sirius felt a shove on his back, pushing him forward. He looked behind him to see Nymphadora smiling at him and Remus giving him the thumbs up. He walked up to the stool and sat down. He looked over to the crowd at the Slytherin table and saw the wire-like, black, curly hair of his cousin Bellatrix. She was sitting besides her boyfriend, Rudolphus (his name could give Nymphadora a run for her money) Lestrange.

He closed his eyes as the hat was placed on his head. The hat spoke;

"Ah... yes... another Black... but what's this? You don't seem... hmmm... this is interesting..."

 _'What are you on about...?'_ Sirius thought to himself. _'Please just put me where I belong, will you?'_

"Where you belong eh? Very well... GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers as the students of the Slytherin table gasped, majority half expecting Sirius to to land himself in Slytherin. He looked down at Remus and Nymphadora in the crowd of first years and saw them clapping along with the Gryffindors.

He stood up from the stool and began walking down to the Gryffindor table.

 _'I've actually done it... I have broke the Black Slytherin chain... oh mother is going to have a hippogriff when she finds out...'_

He sat down and was pat on the back by multiple other Gryffindor's. He high fived James Potter, the previous boy to be put into Gryffindor, who seemed incredibly happy to have a fellow Gryffindor first year.

"Remus Lupin!"

Remus inhaled deeply before walking up to the stool. He heard Tonks mutter a silent good luck to him as he left the first year crowd. He sat on the stool and tried to calm his heart beat as he felt that hat land softly on his head. He jumped slightly as the hat spoke.

"A Lupin... hmmmm... I guess it must run in the family. Every Lupin I've sorted has always landed themselves in Ravenclaw... yes.. good, strong minds Lupins have... but you... you have more than a strong mind..."

 _'What more do I have...?'_

"You have more than just a great mind boy... GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table yet again, burst into cheers. He looked over at Tonks and saw her yet again, applauding him. He heard Sirius whistling loudly as he stood up from the stool and walked over to the table. He took the seat next to Sirius and was introduced to James Potter.

McGonagalls voice silenced the cheering.

"Nymphadora Tonks!"

Nymphadora inhaled deeply before walking towards the stool. Her heartbeat quickened it's pace as she felt the hat on her head.

"Half Tonks and half Black... interesting... a mix of Gryffindor and Slytherin blood... interesting indeed..."

 _'Wherever you seem fit to put me, put me there... I don't want my house to be because of my bloodline...'_

"Don't worry... as that's not the reason for sorting... there seems to be a lot of loyalty in your heart Nymphadora... so it seems fitting to place you... in HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Hufflepuff table blew up into cheers and whistles. Tonks grinned madly as she ran down the steps (tripping over the bottom one but managing to stay upright) to join her table. She saw both Sirius and Remus clapping for her from the Gryffindor table as she passed them. She sat down and shook hands with a number of older Hufflepuff students. The pink in her short hair began to fade into a yellow, matching the Hufflepuff house colours, which amazed a number of fellow Hufflepuffs around her. One of the prefect boys even ruffled her hair, making her cheeks blush pink.

* * *

The sorting continued and Lily Evans, a red headed witch was put into Gryffindor, along with a short, pudgy boy named Peter Pettigrew. Another boy, Frank Longbottom and his friend Alice Jennings also found themselves in Gryffindor, along with a couple of other young witches and wizards.

Jeffery Crabbe, Matthew Goyle, Atticus Mulciber, Darnel Avery, Merula Snyde and twins Alecto and Amycus Carrow, found themselves following Severus Snape and a couple others into Slytherin house. Bellatrix's excitement about new house members however, died out and she found herself glaring over at Sirius who was chatting away to James, Remus and Peter, occasionally turning round to the Hufflepuff table to include Nymphadora in on the conversation.

Following their friend, Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance and her Friend Hestia Jones, were sorted into Ravenclaw house. Shortly after them, a young boy with bright blue eyes and blonde hair named Gilderoy Lockhart joined them. He winked at both Hestia and Emmeline as he sat down across from them, sending them into a fit of girlish giggles.

A short girl with blonde pigtails named Bertha Jorkins was sorted into Hufflepuff, not long after Tonks. Also sorted into Hufflepuff house was a boy named Newton Scamander (whose nose was already in a book about magical creatures as soon as he sat down), an Irish witch named Joy O'Donnell (who had a love for magical plants and potions), a tall, brown haired boy named Jason O'Brien (who had taken to writing in a journal at the table), Crystal Sawyer (an American witch who moved to England not too long ago with her family) and muggleborn twins James and Andrew Murray (the duo entertained and amazed the table with slight of hand card tricks, not using actual magic of course).

The feast was devoured and the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore gave a speech, alerting students of a special tree called the 'whomping willow', which had been planted as of recent and is best to be avoided, unless they wanted to be attacked by said tree.

It wasn't much later, that Sirius and Remus found themselves in their dormitory, which they shared with the bespectacled James Potter, the pudgy Peter Pettigrew and a quiet young wizard named Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"So boys" James spoke from his bed to Peter, Sirius and Remus (Kingsley had decided to go and read silently in the common room). "Did you guys know you'd land yourselves in Gryffindor? I did. Come from a long line of 'em, I do. Plus, it's better than being placed in Slytherin."

Sirius spoke up from his own bed where he was laying down, twirling his wand in his hand like he had been doing on the train.

"My entire family were Slytherin mate. At least until today that was. I'm the first Black to avoid Slytherin house. Though I don't know what a worse situation is right now..."

"What do you mean, worse?" Peter asked from his bed. He was scribbling a letter on a piece of parchment to send to his mother.

"Well I'm the first Black to avoid Slytherin right? And all Blacks are pure-bloods. But that Hufflepuff girl, Tonks we were talking to? She happens to be the second Black to ditch it. She's my cousins daughter so she has Black blood, but my cousin, Andromeda, married a muggleborn. Which is against like... the Black family rules. So she's disowned in a way. I also happen to have an older cousin here, Bellatrix, who's a) a Slytherin and b) Andromeda's younger sister. So me not being in Slytherin can't be hidden from my dear, old, pure-blooded mother, and I'm sure Bella will just blab to the family about her 'blood-traitor' niece being here."

Sirius stopped twirling his wand and sat up on the bed.

"Anyways, what my point is here, is who has it worse; me, Sirius Orion Black, the first Black to defy the Slytherin chain of Blacks and befriend two half-bloods" he pointed at both Peter and Remus "and a 'blood-traitor' cousin, WHO I THINK IS AWESOME."

"Or?" Asked James.

"Or my cousin, Nymphadora... something... Tonks, second Black to ditch Slytherin, metamorphagus, daughter of a 'blood-traitor' Black and a muggleborn Gryffindor, and got sorted in to Hufflepuff?"

"Well..." Remus spoke up. He had been reading the boom his father gave him while sitting in his bed, jumping into the conversation when he wanted. "I guess it's a really tough decision. The pure-blooded kid didn't follow in his family footsteps and his cousin is the result of 'being a blood-traitor', is a half-blood and is in Hufflepuff. I say you're tied up."

"I agree Sirius. I mean, I come from a long line of Gryffindor's myself, but I don't think my dad or mum would be annoyed if I landed elsewhere. And I don't think they really believe in being a blood-traitor. Dad's got muggle mates, he has. Anyways, what about you Lupin? You think you'd land yourself here?"

"Well James, my dad Lyall, was a Ravenclaw." Remus sighed and closed his book. "My mum, Hope, didn't attend Hogwarts because she was a muggle. So I guess I always thought I'd follow my dad and be a Ravenclaw. You heard the sorting hat, all the Lupin's he's sorted have ended up in Ravenclaw. But I somehow had something that made me a Gryffindor."

"Well Gryffindor's definable trait is courageousness right?" Asked Peter. "Maybe you have gone through something that makes you brave... like whatever gave you those incredibly cool scars!"

James smiled at him and nodded.

"He has a point there Remus. Say, how did you get those scars? Looks like an angry fight with a dark creature."

Remus gulped. He had no intention whatsoever of revealing his lycanthropy, especially to the first people he's been friends with ever. He knew the topic of his scarred face would be brought up though... luckily for him, he'd thought up a cover story in the great hall.

"Actually no" he lied. "There was a whomping willow planted in the forest near where I live. Walked right into it while I was looking for firewood and as you can see, it did a number on me. Loads of blood. Broke my arm in the process too."

Sirius laughed.

"Bloody hell mate, sounds violent. Let's hope you don't have a repeat with the one on school grounds here."

Remus gave a nervous smile. Oh, he wouldn't have any issues with that tree... especially since the tree had been planted for him, for during his full moon transformations. Once you got past the tree's violent, thrashing branches, there was a tunnel at the base of the tree, which would lead him to a place they called 'the shrieking shack', down in Hogsmeade village. The place was said to be haunted so it would be well avoided by civilians and students.

But, like you know, Remus has full intention of keeping his lycanthropy secret. Which also means, that the whomping willow and his connection to it, would remain just as much as a secret.

"Trust me Black... I'll be keeping as far as possible from that tree."

* * *

Tonks say in he common room, a quill in her hand and a piece of parchment in front of her. Her cat, Loki, sat on the ground besides where she was writing and occasionally meowed for attention. She had also morphed her hair back to the short, bubblegum pink it was earlier.

 _'Okay... now to start on this letter...'_

Tonks thought about what to write before letting her quill dip into the ink and touch the parchment.

 _'Dear mum and dad...'_ her quill began to move quickly across the parchment.

 _'I have arrived safely and soundly at Hogwarts. Holy hippogriffs, the building is huge! I'm definitely gonna get lost. You guys owe me five galleons, because guess where I landed? Hufflepuff! I made some friends on the train too! One of them happens to be your cousin mum, Sirius Black! He's dead nice though. He got sorted into Gryffindor! My other friend, Remus Lupin, he's in Gryffindor too. He's also a little bit shy and a bit of a nerd, but he's cool. I like them both. Anyway, it's getting late so I'm going to sign this letter off now. I'll write back once you have!_

 _Love, your pride and joy x'_

Tonks signed the letter and put down her quill. She yawned and shuffled in her chair, Loki shifting at her feet. She stood up, picked up her parchment and folded it, putting it into the envelope. She'd owl it to her parents in the morning, but right now, she wanted sleep.

She picked up Loki and head to the dormitory which she shared with Joy, Crystal and two other first year Hufflepuff girls. She entered the room and walked to the bed which had her trunk in front of it. Sitting on top of her trunk sat a yellow tie and a black and yellow scarf.

She took her pyjamas from her trunk and changed quietly, trying not to wake Crystal, who was snoring from her bed. She had mentioned earlier at the feast, that since she moved from the US, her sleeping pattern had been a little topsy turvey.

After changing, the pink haired girl slid into her bed and lay back (Loki curled up at the bottom of the bed), getting lost on her thoughts about how her day went and how tomorrow may go.

What would her classes be like? Would she be any good? Her dad had always said he was a whizz with potions and her mother never failed to brag about her own skills with charms and herbology. What if she wasn't as good as them? What if her teachers EXPECTED her to be as good as her parents and she wasn't?

 _'Maybe I'm just thinking too much about it...'_ she thought to herself. _'Maybe I just need to get some sleep.'_

So she closed her eyes and was out like a light... only for her dreams to be plagued with the same thoughts she wanted to avoid.

* * *

 **There we go! I think I did good... I hope.**

 **Feel free to review! Later kiddos!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ya boi is back to school so chapters are gonna be heckin slow. RIP social life after A-level English Literature takes over.**

 **Huge thanks to "Alicia Olivia Mirza" for always reviewing my dude. YEAH THATS RIGHT, I SEE THEM REVIEWS AND THEY MAKE MY DAY.**

 **Notes; I am aware the students should've been sorted in alphabetical order but it was something that completely slipped my mind. Whoopsie doopsie!**

 **The classes aren't gonna vary by house, so not all Gryffindors will be with all Slytherin during class etc. All will prolly be split i.e. some Gryffindors with some Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaw etc.**

 **Cookies for those who get the B99 reference within this chapter.**

* * *

The great hall was filled with the sounds of chattering students and the clinking of cutlery on plates and bowls. Most students were sat at their own house tables, talking to their friends and housemates. However, some students decided to sit with their friends who were in other houses.

Nymphadora Tonks, Hufflepuff first year, sat at the Gryffindor table, along side her Gryffindor friends whom she met on the train, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. She was also getting acquainted with their new friends and roommates, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. The five first years were currently discussing their timetables which they had just received from the head boys of their houses.

"So we all share pretty much every class as a group except transfiguration and potions. Both Tonks and Lupin are separated from us BUT are together for those so at least you both won't be alone! They must have had to split some of the houses due to the amount of first years that joined this year." James smiled and handed Tonks her schedule back before devouring a piece of toast.

Sirius handed James his timetable back after looking over it. He started piling bacon onto his own plate.

"Shame you'll be denied of my amazing presence during those classes... James and Peter however, you guys are lucky to be sharing the same timetable as me and get to place your eyes on the most noble AND HANDSOME face of Black!" he said dramatically, before shovelling the bacon from his plate into his mouth.

Tonks shook her head and mumbled something that sounded extremely like 'drama queen' and dug in to her own breakfast. Her hair was short, spiky and her favourite shade of pink today.

"At least none of us are alone in our class" said Peter. He was pouring milk into his own bowl of 'Quaffle Puffs'.

"True that... speaking of classes," Remus looked over his own timetable "they start in fifteen minutes. Tonks and I have double potions, and I'm gonna guess you three have double transfiguration?"

Sirius gave him the thumbs up, his mouth full of bacon.

"Bingpot."

The other four gave Sirius a look. Tonks spoke up as she was the only one who didn't have a mouth full of food.

"What in Merlin's name is a bingpot?"

"A mix between 'bingo' and 'jackpot'" Sirius shrugged as the confused glares at him continued. "What? I didn't know which one to use!"

"I can't believe we're related... anyways Remus, maybe we should head to class now as to get a seat together? We can be potion partners!"

Remus smiled and stood up from his table. He stepped back and watched Tonks follow his lead. He ended up joining his new friends in giggling as she stumbled trying to stand from her own chair, her cheeks glowing red at the embarrassment of her clumsiness. He looked around the great hall and saw a few other first years and older students from all houses, standing up to head to their own classes.

"Well boys! Remus and I bid you adieu! Hurry up and eat or McGonagall will have a hippogriff!"

The remaining trio nodded then waved as they watched as their two friends walk out the hall side by side, the female of the duo tripping over her feet as she walked through the door.

"Remus, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable."

Remus Lupin turned his head and looked to the short girl walking beside him. She was looking back at him, her brown eyes swimming with curiosity.

"Ask away. I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Well..." she looked down and looked at her feet as she walked, her hands linked together as she started fiddling awkwardly. "I'm kinda curious... how'd you get those scars...? It's cool if you don't want to answer!"

Remus looked down himself as he tried to recall the the excuse he made to his roommates the previous evening. If he wasn't telling them, there was no way he was telling her. Merlin knows how she's react if she found out her new friend was a werewolf.

"I..." he cleared his throat "I was walking in the forest near my house you see, and I walked right into a whomping willow that was planted there. As you can see... it messed me up pretty badly."

"Yowcha" she said, grimacing slightly. "I bet that hurt. Ive never done that but I've fallen out of trees! There's one at home I love to climb but I never seem to get to climb down! As you can tell, I'm pretty clumsy... I'm talking your ear off right now. I'll be quiet."

Remus laughed at her ramble.

"It's fine, you're not. Don't worry about it."

"You sure? My mum always says I never know when to shush sometimes. They're the only people I really talk to you see, I can tell it annoys them and they'd rather I go play with kids my own age but making friends is super hard, especially when people just stare at you because you're a metamorphagus."

Tonks looked up and watched as Remus' smile slowly faded into a look of something she couldn't quite figure out. She awkwardly looked down at her feet again.

"Yeah... I know what you mean. I mean, I couldn't really make many friends either. So it's just me and my father but he's more the talkative one."

His pink haired companion looked back up at him and beamed happily.

"Well we have friends now! We have James, Sirius and Peter! Even better, you have me because let's be honest," she shot him a cheeky wink "I'm your favourite, as an unlikely of a duo as we are!"

He laughed at her enthusiasm. They were certainly an unlikely duo.

Her bright, pink hair, which was a mess on her head, contrasted with his own light-brown locks. While his own red and gold tie was perfectly done, her yellow and black striped tie was loosely tied and the top button of her school blouse was undone. While he had tucked his shirt neatly under his jumper, the ends of her blouse stuck out of her own grey sweater-vest which already had a spill stain on it from the tea she had with her cereal. Her black shoes were already slightly scuffed.

She was a chatter-box. He got preferred to listen. He was a brave Gryffindor. She was a loyal Hufflepuff. However, like him, she struggled with making friends of her own due to her being different to other children.

The two students were similarly different.

"Guess that makes me your favourite too, eh?"

His companion winked at him again and shot him the thumbs up. He smiled wildly at his quirky friend. He was undeniably happy. He had finally found friends, not to mention, he was someone's favourite. He'd have to write to his father later and tell him about his first full day.

The two arrived at the door of their class and entered together. They found a table and started to take out their equipment for duo engaged in a silent chatter until he room filled with students of each house and their potions teacher, Professor Slughorn entered the class.

"Okay students, for those who don't know, I'm professor Slughorn, your potions teacher. Now, if you'd All take out your quills and parchment, we're going to cover the basics of potion making! Now..."

Lupin sat up and prepared himself to take notes. He began to scribble rapidly on his parchment.

Tonks rolled her eyes at him, yawned and began lazily scrawling notes on her own parchment. Tonks didn't know about Remus, but she already knew she was in for a long day.

* * *

"Pick up the pace, Potter!"

"Professor McGonagall is going to kill us..."

"We wouldn't be in this situation right now if SOMEONE didn't stop to fix their hair in one of the quidditch cups!"

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WE'D MISS THE STAIR CASE THAT TOOK US TO HER ROOM!"

Three Gryffindor first years ran along the corridor towards the Transfiguration classroom of Professor McGonagall, one of them holding his hand to his face to keep his rounded glasses on his face.

The three boys burst through the doors of their class and luckily for them, their teacher wasn't there. They looked around and saw their classmates at their desks taking some sort of notes while a grey, striped cat sat on the desk and watched.

"Thank Merlin... she's not here..." Sirius gasped, attempting to catch his breath.

"Lads, let's get a seat before she does show up."

As the trio looked around, the cat jumped from the teachers desk and and began to change. As it landed on the ground, it had fully transformed into their transfiguration teacher and head of house, Professor McGonagall herself. James, Sirius and Peter stood in shock as she glared at three from behind her spectacles.

"You're late boys. And to your first class. Do tell me, what was your holdup?"

"You're... an animagus?" Peter asked, his mouth agape.

"We missed the staircase Professor! We tried to get here as fast as we could!" James said loudly. Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Well," she spoke, walking back to her desk, "I trust you wont make the same mistake next time. Take a seat."

The three hurried to find a desk. James and Sirius sat together whilst Peter sat next to Gilderoy Lockhart in the seat in-front of them. Peter asked what they were supposed to be taking notes on and the Ravenclaw just pointed his quill to the blackboard. The three got out their own quills and parchment and began copying what was written.

"Psst... Sirius!"

Sirius looked up from his parchment and to James beside him.

"What is it you speccy git?"

"How long d'you reckon it would take for us to become animagi?"

"Hm... I don't know... probably a lon-"

"Black! Potter! Quiet, before I start taking points!"

The two talkers went silent and started rapidly scribbling down notes, both grinning to themselves.

* * *

 _'Dear father...'_

Remus Lupin stood in the owlery, leaning on the stone table whilst writing a letter to his father. He twirled his white quill in his hands, thinking about what to write.

 _'First day was absolutely brilliant. You'll be proud to know, I'm a Gryffindor! I've made friends too! Their names are Sirius, James, Peter and Nymphadora (though she prefers to be called Tonks). The three boys are in my house and we also share a dormitory while Tonks is in Hufflepuff. I haven't told them of my condition though they did ask about my scars. I gave them a reasonable excuse. I must go now, dinner's about to start. Hope to hear off you soon._

 _-Remus'_

He folded the letter and put it in the envelope. Slowly he tied it to one of the school owl's foot before telling it where to go. He watched as the owl hooted before flying off out the window, into the blue fading orange skies. As he turned around, he saw a beaming smile and a head of bright pink hair standing at the door way, an envelope in her hand.

"Wotcher Remus. Just owling your dad I'm guessing?"

He smiled at her as she walked over to where a brown, screech owl was perched. She tied her own letter to its foot and told it where to go. Like what the owl did for him, it hooted and flew out the same window.

"Yeah, decided to do it now before I end up forgetting. I'm guessing you're owling your own parents?"

"You bet! Might get myself some galleons in return. See, they had a bet if I was gonna be a Gryffindor like my dad or a Slytherin like my mum. I bet them I wouldn't be either."

"Hope that works out for you Tonks."

She beamed brightly at him.

"As do I my friend, as do I. Anyways, you want to head down for tea? Those classes and watching Sirius use 'wingardium leviosa' on James accidentally made me laugh enough to work up a huge appetite."

"I agree with you there... the look on Professor Flitwick's face was amazing... let's go!"

The odd duo left the owlery together and entered the great hall. Both took their seats at the Gryffindor table next to their friends who's plates were already full.

"Send your letters then?" Asked Sirius who continued-despite having it already filled-piling chicken nuggets onto his plate.

"I'd owl my own family but I'd probably get a howler back. I'm surprised I haven't already gotten one. Bellatrix mustn't have blabbered... yet."

'And when she does... I'm in for it...' he thought to himself sadly.

"Is mum's family really that bad?" Asked Tonks, her hair now instead of its usual pink, was a midnight blue, though the style remained it's usual short mess.

Sirius nodded.

"Depends on what you've heard about them, but they're pretty awful. I mean, my little brother Regulus is okay but my mother... she's... not the nicest Black out there. She constantly compares me to my little brother because he's so..." Sirius inhaled deeply, "he's just better than me. Tidy, always on time. Actually listens. Mother's favourite basically. He's probably only got the back of her hand once in his life for doing something by accident, which I'm pretty sure I still got blamed and beat for after. Blacks are old fashioned y'see... all tough and you've got to earn their love. Since your mum got herself blown of the family tree, she obviously lost all love for her from the Blacks."

There was a moment of pitiful silence within the group. No one expected that to come from Sirius. Yeah, he's made jokes about his mother finding it about him being in Gryffindor and 'having a hippogriff' but they didn't know it could result in Sirius being harmed at home by his mother. Remus cleared his throat and decided it was time to lighten the mood.

"So James. Recovered from charms?"

And the charms class that homed James' humiliation and Sirius' pride for the day, remained the topic of the groups chatter and laughter throughout the evening dinner. James then revealed how Sirius accidentally blew up the feather he tried to transfigured into a coin during transfiguration, which caused even more laughter. At one point, Peter laughed so hard that pumpkin juice spurted out of his nose, covering Remus and James. At that, both Tonks and Sirius fell onto the ground into a loud fit of giggles (and some snorts from Tonk's end), catching the attention of some surrounding students and teachers in the hall- which just made them laugh even harder, including Remus who was busy trying to wipe the pumpkin juice off his face.

Next to James' and Sirius' mishap in charms class and despite what Sirius had told them, their humorous evening dinner was the best moment of their first day at Hogwarts.

* * *

The feast soon ended and Tonks departed from the Gryffindor table with Crystal and Joy to head to the Hufflepuff common room as to start their homework, whilst the four Gryffindor boys followed suit to their own common room and start their own homework. Both Remus and Peter sat at the table, scribbling rapidly on their parchment with heir quills, whilst James and Serious lay on the floor, rolling a piece of crumpled up parchment to one another, clearly procrastinating actually starting their homework.

"Will you two get a start on your homework? Do you want to lose house points?" Remus spoke, not once looking up from his parchment. James and Sirius stopped rolling the parchment back and forward and sat up.

"Quit whining Lupin," Sirius said pulling out his quill, "spectacles and I are going to start now."

James rolled his eyes and followed Sirius in taking out his own quill and fresh parchment.

Sirius took out his transfiguration text book and opened it at the page they'd started reading in class. He looked at all the notes he'd circled and underlined on the page and began copying them onto his piece of parchment.

 _'This isn't actually so bad...'_ he thought to himself, dipping the end of the will into the ink pot before continuing to copy notes. _'At least it's not practical homework. Couldn't risk burning more feathers.'_

He smiled to himself at the memory. Yeah, he may have slightly humiliated himself in class, but it was funny. His first day had been a great one so far. He had friends, he was doing reasonably well in all his classes and he'd successfully avoided bumping into his older cousin Bellatrix or hearing from his family.

But of course, life wasn't as simple as that. Especially for Sirius Black.

After a good half an hour, the boys were just consisting their homework up until they heard a scratching noise at the window. Sirius got up and walked to the window, only for all the colour to leave his face and his stomach to start doing cartwheels.

Tapping at the window was an owl. An oak brown, screech owl with bright yellow eyes. Tied to its foot was a red envelope.

The Black family owl had arrived with a howler.

Sirius opened the window and untied the envelope, the owl pecking him sharply on the finger before flying off.

"Sirius, what is it?"

His three friends had stood up from their homework and had gathered round him, all with worried expressions.

"I'm guessing my family knows... guess who just got their howler?"

The worry changed to pity. James pat his shoulder.

"Right. Come on up to our room. You can open it there. I think that Kingsley one is down at the library or something."

* * *

The group of friends walked up to their dorm, closing the door tightly behind them before perching themselves on their beds.

Sirius inhaled before beginning to open the envelope, waiting for it to jump out of his hand and for his mother's shrill voice to start cursing him out. As soon as the howler began to speak, James, Peter and Remus jumped, clearly surprised by the volume.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK, NEVER HAVE I BEEN SO DISGUSTED, OR APPALLED WITH ANYONE IN THIS FAMILY SINCE THAT WHORE WENT AND MARRIED THAT DISGUSTING MUDBLOOD."

Sirius bowed his head in shame. He felt tears beginning to sting his eyes. He knew this was coming but he didn't know how bad his mother's words would affect him.

"YOU WORTHLESS, TRAITOROUS PIECE OF DRAGON SHIT. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THE MOST NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK. YOU LAND YOURSELF IN GRYFFINDOR AND THEN YOU CONVERSE AND ASSOCIATE WITH HALF-BLOODS AND THAT STUPID LITTLE GIRL OF THAT SLUT, ANDROMEDA?! YOU COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY THAT YOU'RE IN HOGWARTS RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN, OR YOU'D REGRET EVER BEING BORN."

The letter disintegrated.

The room was silent and still.

Sirius stood in the spot where the howler had screamed at him while his friends sat on their beds, feeling sorry for their companion.

James stood up and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Sirius mate..."

"Are you alright...?" Remus asked softly from his bed.

"What a cow..." Peter muttered.

"It's funny," Sirius sniffled, bringing his hand up to wipe his tears away, "I knew it was coming... but I didn't think it would make me feel like this, y'know?"

James took his hand off his shoulder and wrapped his arms around him instead.

"You're not worthless, mate. Your mum is an absolute psycho."

Sirius hugged his friend back tightly and nodded into his shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Sirius pulled away and sat on his own bed. The room was silent until Sirius spoke up.

"Y'know, up until now, I already did regret being born..."

Remus looked over curiously. "Why's that? Well, more of what's changed?"

"Well," Sirius smiled, "the reason why is pretty obvious... but what changed is I met you guys and Tonksie."

Remus and Peter both smiled widely. James picked up a cushion from his bed and chucked it at Sirius, hitting him square in the face.

"Gay."

Sirius snorted and threw the pillow back at James.

"Says the one who was groping me earlier, hug was just an excuse to grab my bum."

And with that comment, the room bust into laughter. Pillows flew across the room and at one point, James dived on top of Remus who had avoided every cushion threw his way. James was followed by both Sirius and Peter in the pile up.

The whole howler incident remained forgotten. For now, all Sirius was thinking about was how heavy Peter was and how glad he was to have met such amazing people.

* * *

 **OOF! I dunnit! Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! Like I mentioned at the start, I have now returned to school so chapters are gonna be super slow.**

 **But until next time, thanks for reading! Feel free to review!**


	5. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**SKRTSKRTSKRT!!! Okay so, this isn't a chapter. However, it's an update to show that I'm not in fact dead and have a new chapter in the works!**

 **To those reading this story, I am so so so sorry for the lack of updates these past months. I've been heckin busy with school and 6th form classes are kicking my ass. That and I've been stuck with a big lump of writers block.**

 **I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON THIS STORY AT ALL. It's always on my mind and I feel so incredibly guilty for not making much progress with it, but like I said, school is kicking my ass.**

 **These newest update shall probably be up in about... 3 weeks...**

 **I KNOW, I'M AWFUL. See, it would be up earlier, but I'm visiting my family in England until Monday, I have school on Tuesday and then I fly away to London for my English Literature trip on Wednesday morning til Friday night. Then on the Saturday I have the twenty one pilots concert in Belfast and a birthday party after work the following day.**

 **SO I BASICALLY HAVE NO TIME.**

 **I may manage to get it up slightly earlier, but I can't promise you anything.**

 **To those who have still stuck with me and to newer readers, thank you for sticking around and reading this story. I hope yall are enjoying it so far.**

 **Cat, OUT.**


	6. Even more important notice

**Hi. Yes, I'm still alive.**

 **However, I have decided to discontinue this story for a few reasons;**

 **-I don't really feel too much for the way I began to write it.**

 **-I have no idea where I'll be taking it.**

 **-I've just lost all focus with it.**

 **It isn't the end of me altogether, however I will be writing for a few different fandoms in the mean time and you never know, I may suddenly get in to writing this again.**

 **Thank you to those who supported this very short journey. Hopefully, I'll somehow find the joy in writing this again and get back to it. But for now, consider this book, locked.**

 **-Cat**


End file.
